Enter Sandman
by ghxstking
Summary: "Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight. Exit: light. Enter: night." -OR- Dipper and Mabel Pines are reunited after being separated due to a divorce. Gravity Falls welcomes them with open arms and an impending apocalyptic situation, and Dipper finds himself pulled into a world he doesn't understand with only Mabel to help him get out. [ON HIATUS]
1. Welcome to Gravity Falls

**What up Gravity Falls fandom!**

 **This is the result of the extreme boredom that comes from the end of the school year. It just kind of... happened. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Magic is a drug for the soul whose addiction knows no bounds. For most it is learned, through books and demonstrations of those who are all too eager to share their knowledge. For a small group it is already a part of them the moment they take their first breath, coursing through their veins and surrounding their heart. Regardless of its origin, the story remains the same with varying degrees of damage. It is not a happy ending.

...

The rust red bus seemed to shudder as it slowed, the brakes screeching in protest as the bulky vehicle reached its destination. If the dispondant passengers had bothered to pay attention, they may have believed it to be a mistake, or accepted the inevitability of the old behemoth finally giving up and breaking down. The tall pine trees on either side of the dirt road revealed no signs of civilization within their shadows. There didn't seem to be anything else around, but if one cared enough to look, they would find an almost naturally camouflaged sign. Weeds had claimed a hold on it, stretching up greedily in an attempt to reach the sunlight. This sunlight had faded the once vibrant colors to almost nothing, but a keen eye could just make out the words.

One such person who did care and was looking gathered his things and prepared to depart. While he was happy to finally be getting off of the old, failing bus, he wasn't exactly thrilled to arrive at what was going to be his home for the entire summer vacation. He stepped out into the hot afternoon sun and squinted at the dilapidated sign, barely able to make out the words without his glasses. 'Welcome to Gravity Falls,' huh? The mosquito welcoming committee definitely made him feel right at home.

He glanced around him as he absentmindedly swatted at the bloodthirsty pests. Even if it was hot and bug infested, he felt oddly calm and relaxed as he surveyed the woods. It all seemed so familiar; the sweet smell of pine carried on the light breeze as it wound its way through the branches, the glimpse of glittering eyes among said branches as whatever creatures they belonged to scurried in and out of patches of sunlight, the quiet shifting of dead pine needles as they responded to the whispering of the wind. He supposed it could be him trying to make some connection to the trees near his home, but it felt different. The sounds of the forest mingled and twisted to the point that they almost formed whispered words, divulging ancient secrets and giving desperate warnings to anyone with the patience to listen. Almost unconsciously, he found himself leaning forward, trying to make some sense of it. Closing his eyes, he focused himself fully on the darkness of the forest, felt a gentle tug somewhere in his mind, and waited quietly for whatever the forest was trying to-

The dying shriek of the rusted bus as it finally left the stop broke his concentration and elicited a startled yelp from him. The failing vehicle continued to groan and sputter as it picked up momentum, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake. He choked on the dirt and foul fumes left behind and took a few moments to question his sanity. Why in the world would he think that trees could talk to him? He knew he could be a little weird, but that was slightly beyond the usual scope of his oddness. He sighed and started to pick up his bags, unaware of the attack coming at him from the rear until it was too late.

His only warning was a squeal from some sort of small animal and something larger intermingling, growing in volume before his face met the ground and he was trapped within the strong grasp of a girl. A pig snorted at his hair and ran in circles around the collapsed pair, feeding off of the girl's excitement. He coughed, attempting to replenish his now restricted air supply, and tried to get a good look at his assailant.

Whatever shade of pink her sweater was made his eyes water from their close proximity. The equally vibrant star and rainbow decorating it did nothing to help. The decibel of sound she had managed to reach was impressive, but it was probably causing some major hearing loss. He opened his mouth to politely say something along the lines of "Please get off of me, I'm dying," but his voice was cut off as he choked on a fairly sizable clump of hair that had decided to claim his esophagus as a resting place. His sputtering and gasping must have gotten the message across, because he was quickly released from the choke hold. The sweet feeling of oxygen actually making it to his lungs provided a sense of calming relief after going for a time without any. It was almost enough to keep him from being annoyed at the source of his near demise. Almost.

Said person was currently jumping around him with a slight sense of worry leaking into her excitement. The pig (okay, even if he was beyond confused by everything right now, the pig was the first thing that needed to be explained) was right on her heels, squealing in what he could only assume was an excited and joyful tone. He couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed as his gaze was drawn to the girl's wildly bouncing wavy hair, which he had practically eaten half of. Even if it technically wasn't his fault, it was still kind of weird. One could argue for the word 'creepy.' Of course this would happen to him: meet a new person and immediately make things awkward beyond belief. The only thing that could possibly make things worse was if this girl was who he thought she was. If it was a complete stranger, he could laugh it off and get on with his life, hopefully to never run into them again. But if it was her-

"Dipper!"

Well, he didn't know what he had been expecting. Maybe something... normal? A hug, a few awkward laughs, and everything would be sunshine and rainbows from that point on. He hadn't even considered the possibility of a near death experience and almost cannibalism. That wasn't exactly how he had wanted to introduce himself.

Rubbing the back of his neck and coughing awkwardly, he took in the girl's clear, confident, joyful gaze, and responded in kind. "Hey, Mabel."

And so, for the first time he could remember, with a pig dancing around the pair and squealing it's happiness to the world, Dipper Pines met his twin sister.


	2. Pigs and Personalities

**Wow I finished this one really quickly. Yay! (Don't expect me to be so on top of things in the future. I'm not a fast writer. Sorry !)**

 **Just to be clear, after the divorce, Mabel went with their dad and Dipper went with their mom.**

* * *

In the shadows of the towering pines, creatures scurried in and out of their hidden haunts, too busy living to be bothered with the insistent message carried on the wind. It danced through the undergrowth, stirring up discarded pine needles and forgotten memories. Most creatures may not have been bothered by it, but one in particular took special care to make sure he heard all of what the forest spoke of. He listened patiently to the voices carried by the wind and watched as it twirled away to speak to others who didn't care. But he did. Most of the forest, or even the town, might not know it yet, but this was going to change everything.

Things were about to become very interesting.

...

"You still haven't explained the pig."

He leaned to his left at an alarming angle as the car he and his twin currently resided in raced around a bend in the road. The magnificent pines around them filtered the falling rays of the setting sun and sent shadows dancing across every surface they could reach. It was quite beautiful, but Dipper was distracted from it all by the loud, enthusiastic entity that was his sister.

Mabel was without a doubt one of the most social people he had ever encountered. She hadn't stopped talking ever since she had nearly killed him again (Seriously, this girl was going to be the death of him, and it wouldn't even be a cool way to die. 'Strangled with love by his sister' was not something he wanted on his headstone.), and he had been introduced to an obviously shady older man with an eyepatch who was apparently their Grunkle Stan. Topics ranged from art to television shows to life goals to candy preferences, and her enthusiasm for anything and everything was contagious. Even if he really didn't care about what was the most appropriate color of glitter to have on your face in different situations, he found himself arguing playfully with her over the merits of blue over purple.

It was comforting to just talk to someone like this. He was so hopeless in social situations that most kids back home had given up even trying to speak to him. He would never admit it, but it was a very lonely existence. The phrase "I'm fine" had, as for so many others, been repeated so often that it had become a mantra he could no longer believe.

As he listened to Mabel's rambunctious laughter and took in her radiant smile, he felt as if he could finally belong somewhere, instead of being lost in a confusing world where no one understood him.

Mabel scooped up the pink creature and squeezed it affectionately to her chest, ignoring its desperate attempts to win back its freedom. "This is Waddles! I'd been trying to convince Dad to let me get a pet for ages, but apparently lions 'aren't the best thing for suburban living.'"

Dipper patted her arm consolingly. "So Waddles was the middle ground?"

"Yep!"

Waddles seemed to grow tired of all the affection he was receiving and leapt into the passenger seat. Grunkle Stan let out a surprised yell, and the car swerved dangerously, tires screeching in a banshee-like howl, before settling (thankfully) into the correct lane. Dipper sank into his seat in an attempt to avoid the glare directed at them from the rearview mirror. Even if it wasn't only meant for him, he had the strange urge to hide as the single uncovered eye met his gaze for a moment before returning to scan the road ahead. Mabel, seemingly oblivious to their Grunkle's anger, continued chatting about whatever was on her mind. Fishing around for some sort of distraction from the unhappy gaze, he remembered a question he had been meaning to ask earlier.

"How did you know to call me Dipper?"

He could practically feel Mabel's confusion. It fused with the annoyed atmosphere created by Grunkle Stan, resulting in a completely awkward situation for him. God, he should have left it alone. "Isn't... that your name? That's what Dad said it was."

He was such an awful person. Why had he asked her that? Mabel looked so unsure of herself, which didn't suit her after seeing her so confident before. He laughed uncomfortably and tried to wave away the problem he had unfortunately created. "Oh, yeah, but it's a nickname. I didn't think you'd know it."

"Oh, okay!" And just like that, Mabel was back to her chipper self. Dipper breathed a small sigh of relief before grinning back at her. He hadn't screwed this up yet. "It's a really cool name! But, um, why Dipper?"

"Because..." She wouldn't make fun of him, would she? She didn't seem like the type, but he had been wrong about that before. He looked away from Mabel's curious gaze and chewed his bottom lip as he thought. Should he show her or make something up? After agonizing over it for a few seconds, he finally gave in and pushed his bangs off of his face, keeping his gaze firmly set on the faded grey interior of the car. He would use this as a test to see if she was really as nice as she seemed to be.

Mabel gently traced the birthmark that spread across his forehead: a mess of dots and lines that came together to form the shape of one of the most famous constellations in the sky. She slowly came to a halt when she reached the end, causing Dipper to look up to gauge her reaction. He was expecting her to laugh, mock, or ridicule him. Instead, her finger slid down from his forehead to his nose, which she then tapped lightly before pulling back. "Boop!"

Laughter leapt from his mouth before he could smother his surprise, ringing loudly in the confined space of the car. Mabel giggled along with him, and Waddles contributed a snort or two to the cacophony. Dipper reveled in the noise, trying to remember the last time he had been so relieved. Mabel liked his strange birthmark, and she seemed to like him, too. Maybe, they were both just strange enough on their own to make things work together.

As they laughed, they both failed to notice the interest they drew from several different sources. The intense stare from the rearview mirror slipped away as Dipper looked up, but one remained. It followed the car as it sped on to its destination without wavering, a constant presence that left an odd tingling sensation on the back of Dipper's neck. It was watching, and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Watching as the sun sank lower on the horizon and was swallowed up by the land. Watching as the sky filled with smaller pinpricks of light that humans had spent ages weaving tales of, watching as a certain grouping of these lights seemed to gleam brighter than the others around it. Watching as the town of Gravity Falls slowed to a halt, blissfully unaware of the events that were about to transpire.

Always watching.


	3. Waking of the Sleeping Soul

**New chapter** **is here! Woot woot!** I **hope you like it.**

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Mystery, danger, and intrigue intertwine with the shadows of the night more often than not. The unknown thrives when it cannot be seen or heard, and preys on those foolish enough to wander within its grasp. It slinks into homes and hides where children fear the most: in the closets and under the beds. It patiently waits for the moment when adults convince themselves and their children that there is nothing to fear. Then it strikes, smothering the illusion of safety and comfort that they have built around themselves as if that alone will keep out the dangers lurking in the dark.

No one is safe when the lights go out.

...

A floorboard shrieked as it was crushed underfoot, causing Dipper to wince slightly. He had decided to keep a mental list of every squeaky spot in his and Mabel's new bedroom so he would never have to step on them again. That didn't stop him from cringing every time one groaned underfoot, loud enough to alert almost the whole town that the Pines twins had finally arrived at the Mystery Shack.

Dipper was wholly unimpressed at the state of the building, with its sagging roof and decrepit sign that was shedding paint and even whole letters at an alarming rate. The whole thing looked like it was on the verge of collapse, but their Grunkle was adamant that it was the ultimate tool for conning the unsuspecting masses.

Stan Pines was... interesting. Dipper couldn't quite figure him out. The man wore an eyepatch that switched sides an alarming amount of times even within the first few hours of their visit. He acted like some massive con artist who swindled vast amounts of money from anyone and everyone, but he chose to live in an out of the way, sleepy town in a rundown old shack. He was a confusing mix of completely oblivious and extremely observant, and he made Dipper inexplicably nervous around him. Then again, Dipper was nervous around everyone, so he couldn't understand how this felt different. It just did.

Mabel didn't seem bothered by any of this. She was currently too busy bouncing on her bed and giggling excitedly as the rusty bed springs squeaked beneath her weight. The bare, wooden walls next to her were now an explosion of color and belongings that was headache-inducing when stared at for too long. It was a physical representation of her personality: bright, cheerful, loud, and unique. Dipper's side of the room was still taking shape, but it was much more subdued. Clothes that had yet to find a home were scattered about in various unlikely places, and stacks of novels had been placed at the foot of his bed. It was his haven in unfamiliar territory, a place where nothing changed when everything else had.

Satisfied with his mental map of any and all squeakiness, he crawled into the mess of blankets thrown haphazardly on his bed and bundled himself into a comfortable cocoon. Even if he wasn't totally sold on the idea of this trip being fun, he had to admit it would be nice to fall asleep with the odd, triangle-shaped window above his head cracked open, allowing a calming breeze and the sound of crickets to sweep through the room. From where his bed was, he had a fantastic view of the stars that balanced on the tops of the pine trees that flanked the Shack. He snuggled further into the warm embrace of the blankets as he gazed at the sky. It felt so nice, and he was exhausted from the bus ride. Mabel's loudness soon faded to background noise as he slipped from the overbearing grasp of reality into the dark.

* * *

 _Run._

 _The whisper glides along the wind, urging him to move faster, faster. He's already sprinting, his heaving lungs protesting painfully, calling out for him to slow his crazed pace. Still, the whispers panic matches his own, and he knows he can't stop. If he stops, this is all over._

 _Run. He's coming._

 _The stars above are blocked by the towering pines that surround him, but there are no obstacles that trip him up on his mad dash through the forest. Each step is sure and steady, the tread of someone who could walk along the path with their eyes closed and come out unscathed. He can only hope that will still hold true for him now._

 _He's coming. Keep going._

 _His birthmark burns across his forehead, warning him of the energy building up within him, demanding to be let out, almost at a breaking point. He ignores it for the moment, totally focused on escaping. He can't afford to be distracted, not now. Even if he did let it out, it couldn't save him at this point._

 _Keep going. Run._

 _So he keeps running, faster than he ever thought he could go, but not fast enough. He would never be fast enough. He knew that, yet he still ran. Maybe he would get lucky. Maybe things would be okay._

 _Run. He's here._

 _After running for so long without any snags, it was a shock to feel something wrap around his ankle, sending him sprawling into the dirt. He only has a moment to realize he has lost. Nothing can save him now. Everything ends here._

 _Tears begin to form in his eyes as he flips himself onto his back in order to face his doom head on. Might as well go down defiantly, since all his other options had been torn so callously from his grasp. He would be defiant because it was the last thing he could do for them, for her. This was his pitiful swan song, and it was all his fault. I'm so sorry, Mabel..._

 _The sounds of the forest and the frantic whispering of the wind died abruptly, signaling the end of his final peaceful moment. He was here, and there was nowhere to run._

 _Something brushed past his ear gently, almost tenderly in a way. He tried to move his head away, failing to hold back a small yelp of alarm. In response, laughter echoes through the silent wood, filled with amusement, glee, and a smidge of maniacal intentions that is not at all reassuring. It has just barely faded off into the distance when the playful whisper tickles his ear, sending a shiver down his spine._

 _ **I found you, Pine Tree.**_

* * *

The world spinned alarmingly when he struggled to drive away his slumber, and Dipper arrived at a full state of consciousness as a heap of limbs and blankets tangled on the floor. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but a small snort and bit of sleepy mumbling from the other side of the room is enough to remind him. Mabel continued to sleep soundly, wrapped up in her own happy dream world. He sighed and quietly slipped back into his own bed, hoping not to bother her. He stayed awake for the rest of the night, and held his breath every time there was a lull in the noise coming through the cracked triangle window above his head.


	4. And So It Begins

**Extra long chapter for you lovely people today. I tried to keep the dialogue as close to the show as possible, but I had to change a bit to work with my timeline.**

* * *

While secrets might lives in the night, they can also be discovered in the brightness of day. They do not disappear as the sun rises. In fact, they are almost easier to find once the shelter of darkness leaves them to their own devices. They do not lay themselves bare for all to see, but their stealth is no longer as effective without the assistance of the endless shadows. Daylight may make them seem safer, taking away the danger of the unknown, but the damage of what is uncovered is just as destructive as it was before, if not more so.

For without the shadows, everything is revealed.

...

Morning arrived abruptly with the sunlight streaming in through the window right into Dipper's sleep deprived eyes in an attempt to blind him. He pulled his covers over his head with a groan, desperate to ignore the day. If he could block out the light, maybe his first day of work would slip past and he could get rid of the pounding headache that had started around four in the morning. He burrowed further into the comforting warmth of his bed and relax when light attacked his face once more. A noise of protest escaped him as he desperately fought to hold onto his blanket. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation did nothing to help him in the struggle, and his source of protection was quickly ripped from his grasp.

"Good morning, bro-bro!" Mabel happily pranced back to her side of the room, wearing his blanket as a cape as she sifted through her array of wildly colored clothing. Dipper watched her for a minute, trying to decide if people could actually be that happy in the morning before he realized it was too early to care and rolled over to block the obnoxious rays of the sun.

He missed Mabel's frown at his less than enthusiastic response. By the time that she tapped him gently on the shoulder and he turned to face her again, her radiant smile was back at full blast like it had never left. She just as gently tugged at his arm and pulled him upright. "Come on, Dipper, rise and shine! It's our first full day here!"

"Yay," Dipper yawned, scratching absentmindedly at his arm. He internally cursed himself for leaving the window open all night. Even if nature sounded nice, the bugs were not very forgiving. He could already feel the bumps forming under his fingers.

Mabel punched him playfully on the shoulder and suddenly jerked him to his feet, causing him to yelp in surprise. She laughed as he stumbled over his own feet but made sure he had his balance before letting go. "Cheer up," she called over her shoulder as she waltzed back over to her side of the room to resume the hunt for the perfect sweater. "It'll be great. Trust me!"

Sighing in resignation, he shuffled over to where his clothes were and began digging for something to wear. Even if he was still grumpy and groggy, he couldn't help but smile at Mabel's antics. And who knows, she could be right. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad. "Okay."

His bug bites were really beginning to bother him. He continued scratching as he went through his belongings. He had dealt with mosquitoes back home, but he'd never had so many of the annoying bumps on his arms at once. Maybe Gravity Falls had some sort of crazy mutant mosquitoes that bit people's arms in... patterns?

He ran his hand over his arm again, and sure enough, he felt the bites form definite shapes across his skin. He abandoned his search for clothing and began a closer inspection of the marks. The angry red lines left behind by his nails were still visible, but they did nothing to block the word that stood out from his skin in an ominous and vague warning.

 _Beware_.

* * *

"All right, look alive people. I need someone to go hammer up these signs in the spooky part of the forest."

Mabel had been wrong about her prediction of greatness. Ever since they had started work, Grunkle Stan had had him constantly running around to do the jobs that no one else was willing to do. This time, Dipper was determined not to be roped into it.

"Not it," he stated quickly.

"Not it!" Mabel cheerfully joined in with a raised hand.

"Um, also not it," called out a large man on a stepladder behind them who had stopped fixing something on the wall to decline his involvement.

Stan waved away the last comment. "Nobody asked you, Soos."

"I know, and I'm comfortable with that," Soos responded and happily took a bite of a chocolate bar. Dipper grinned at the older man as he went back to his drilling, seemingly content with his work. Even though they had only met today, he thought Soos was a really cool guy after he helped him out with several of the odd jobs Stan had forced on him. He was patient and didn't get angry when Dipper screwed up. That was enough to make him like him.

"Wendy! I need you to put up these signs!"

Dipper quickly turned his attention to the beautiful redhead who was currently reading a magazine behind the counter and ignoring the world. He had only spoken to her briefly so far because he didn't trust himself to hold an intelligent conversation with someone as cool and as perfect as she was. He would probably somehow set her on fire or something, or maybe (more realistically) he would manage to be so awkward that she would never speak to him or even acknowledge his presence again. It was best to admire from afar for now and ignore Mabel's very obvious "subtle" nudges as she tried to push him toward her.

Wendy continued reading and began waving her arm in their direction. "I would but I can't... reach it..."

She was still perfect to Dipper even when she was being lazy. Stan didn't seem to agree.

"I'd fire all of you if I could. Alright, let's make it eenie, meenie, minie..." Stan's eyes were fixed on Dipper the entire time he pretended to debate about who to pick, leaving no doubt of who he had intended to choose from the start. "You."

The finger pointed at his chest was no surprise, but something more than just reluctance to do the job was holding him back. He decided to speak up before Stan pushed him out the door. "Grunkle Stan, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Stan appeared to be slightly annoyed by the request, but he still followed Dipper out onto the porch. It seemed like a good sign, even if his Grunkle was tapping his foot impatiently. It was a little intimidating, but Dipper gathered up his courage and tried to say what was on his mind. "Okay, this is going to seem weird and I'm going to sound totally crazy for saying this, but is there something... bad or dangerous in the woods?"

Stan stared at him for a good ten seconds. "You're right, you do sound crazy. Why would you think that?"

"I… well… okay. This morning, I was scratching my arm, because that's what you do when you have bug bites, right? So there felt like there were a lot of them and they were all kind of clumped together in shapes and-" He suddenly realized he was rambling and pulled up his sleeve to display the evidence, hoping it would speak for him. "My mosquito bites spelled out 'beware.'"

Studying his arm for a moment with apparent interest, Stan scoffed and waved the strange markings away. "That says 'bewarb.'"

Dipper scratched at his arm absentmindedly and scowled at his Grunkle's lack of concern. Stan noticed his anger and gently patted him on the shoulder.

"Listen, kid, the whole 'monster in the forest' thing is just local legend told by guys like me to sell merchandise. I'll admit, it's a bit crude, but it's so lucrative. Especially when your customers are all idiots." Dipper opened his mouth to protest the insult, but he was cut off by the sound of a giggle coming through the open door behind them. They both turned to watch a large man in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses staring in awe at a bobble head of Stan as it wiggled back and forth. Stan smirked in satisfaction as his point was proven, and Dipper could only shake his head at the spectacle. People really were ridiculous.

However, as entertaining as dumb tourists were, their antics didn't quell the feeling of unease that hung over Dipper. It remained a constant trace of fear, not enough to cause panic, but enough to keep him on edge. He was so caught up in his own feelings that he was almost injured by several wooden boards that were suddenly dropped right by his head. He squawked and jumped back, glaring at his laughing Grunkle as he picked up the signs and set off towards the woods and ignored Stan's parting yell of, "Quit being so paranoid!"

* * *

Dipper sighed as he hung yet another sign on an old tree that was no where near a trail where anybody would ever see his handiwork. "Nobody ever believes anything I say."

The spooky part of the forest certainly lived up to it's name. The foreboding tree line gave way to a world of shadows and darkness even when the sun was out. The only sounds he could hear were the ones that he made himself, making him wonder where all the animals were. It was the woods after all. There had to be at least a squirrel or two somewhere at least. If there were any squirrels, or any other animals at all, they remained well hidden. He didn't know what had caused them to do this, but he vaguely knew why. Even he could sense that there was something out there that didn't want him here. The whole forest emitted vibes that practically screamed _go away_ and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He let the unwelcome feeling drive him to put the signs up faster so he could head back to the safety of the Shack.

He was down to his last sign when his nail met resistance that was definitely not natural if the loud _clang!_ was anything to go by. He studied the tree carefully. It looked like any normal tree, but as he struck it with his hammer the echoing metallic sound stated otherwise. "What?" He quickly put the hammer down and began feeling the trunk for something… yes! His fingers slipped into a groove in the wood and pulled to reveal some sort of control panel sitting in a hidden compartment. Out of curiosity he began jiggling the different levers. The thing looked ancient, covered in dust and cobwebs after years of disuse. He wondered what it had been hooked up to before.

With a final flick of a lever he turned to pick a normal tree to hang the sign on when a new hatch slid opened, this time in the ground a few feet from the tree.

"What the... ?" Dipper looked down into the hole to discover a worn old book of some kind. He carefully picked it up and blew off a layer of dust to reveal a shining, golden, six-fingered hand with the number three engraved in the center. In it's current state, the thing looked useless, but someone had taken the time to carefully hide it for some reason. Maybe it was important. Curiosity took hold of him once again as he opened the book to the first page. There was some water damage and mold on several of the pages from what he could see, including the very first, cutting off the flowing handwriting right after the words 'Property of.' Well, if he couldn't find who it belonged to, he might as well hold onto it for the time being. Turning to the next page after noting that this was apparently volume 3, he began to read to himself. "'It's hard to believe it's been six years since I began studying the strange and wondrous secrets of Gravity Falls, Oregon.' Huh."

He began flipping through the handwritten entries, his disbelief rising with each title he read. Floating eyeballs, giant vampire bats, gnomes, cursed doors… "What is all this?" He finally stopped on what seemed to be the last filled page and began to read.

"'Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed: I'm being watched. I must hide this book before he finds it. Remember, in Gravity Falls, there is no one you can trust." He traced the words beneath the statement thoughtfully, noting their bolded and underlined appearance. TRUST NO ONE. If anything could prove that he wasn't just being paranoid, this was it. If he showed this to Grunkle Stan… His thoughts slowly calmed down enough for him to actually think rationally. He had no proof that this book wasn't written by some crazy person, and besides, it was pretty adamant about it's thoughts on sharing this information. "No one you can trust..."

He grabbed the book and headed back to the Shack, excited to read about what sort of strange things Gravity Falls had to offer. He was so caught up in the discovery that he didn't stop to think about why someone would go to so much trouble to hide such a book, and who they could possibly be hiding it from.


End file.
